Sanction of the Athar

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The Athar Philosophy is simple: The gods are not gods at all. They are con men operating ponzi schemes on a cosmic scale. They convince mortals to invest their faith – their energy – in them, promising a better life, and then take that power and use it to gain yet more worshipers through divine acts. If faith should fail to pay out on any given matter, simply chalk it up to the inscrutability of the divine plan, and have faith. It’s about as solid as a con can be.

While the gods may not be responsible for creating the multi-verse, or governing it’s every movement, they certainly are beings of extraordinary power, not to be trifled with. So, the Athar have traditionally kept a low profile. They advocate their philosophy but softly, and carefully avoid starting conflicts they know they can’t win. They constrain their crusade to the audience chambers, and well away from the open conflict of the battle field.

But all that is about to change. On the forgotten prime world of Koar, a band of Athar have found not only the ideal base of operations – a world the where the traditional gods cannot tread without escalating a divine standoff to open war between powers – but a means of leveling the field. A source of power so great that it will enable them to face down the gods on their own terms, and cast them out of their seats of power forever.

Their Scheme Begins on Koar, in the kingdom of Nenoria. With cunning and persuasion the Athar have infiltrated the Halfblood Court, Nenoria’s ruling body, and set about securing their foothold on the plane. Little by little, they have swayed the Court to their philosophy, and bit by bit, they have acquired power within the realm. Now, just three years after they launched their scheme, it’s next phase is set to unfold as the Athar take one step closer to their ultimate goal.

The first step is to consolidate their power, and they have the means. At the Athar’s prompting, the Halfblood Court has declared any worship within their borders an act of willful treason. In response, the Knights’ Council has set about rounding up the nations priests. To insure the loyalty of Nenoria’s soldiers and citizens, Sanctioners – ruthless political officers with unswerving devotion of the Athar philosophy – have been installed in military units and government agencies throughout the nation.

It is these events in which the player characters will find themselves embroiled. The nation of Nenoria has turned on itself, bent on abolishing faith, and soon enough they will set out to enforce their will on their neighbors. Perhaps more troublesome however is the inescapable conclusion that the power behind the throne – an organization subtle and powerful enough to subvert a kingdom – must have some deeper, more sinister purpose…